Rory McIlroy hints his season could be over due to ongoing rib problem

It may prove a blessing in disguise, but Rory McIlroy’s miserable 2017 season could already be over.

After completing the US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow on Sunday night, the Northern Irishman revealed that because of an ongoing rib complaint “you may not see me until next year”. The 28-year-old actually made the shock revelation after his best round of the week. A three-under 68 was his lowest score of the tournament by four shots as he finally showed some of the Quail Hollow form which has won him two titles at the Charlotte course.

But while it was a promising ­denouement, it could hardly mask a highly disappointing US PGA, which ensured his third majorless campaign in succession. And his admission afterwards only added to the general sense of despondency regarding the state of the four-time major winner’s game.

“Right now I can feel my left rhomboid going into spasm,” ­McIlroy said, referring to the ­muscle on the back. “It’s sort of the way it has been the last few weeks. I have upped my practice coming into these two events because I wanted to feel like I was in a good place with my game.

“But, yeah, right now it’s a tough one because I go out there and play and shoot decent scores, but when I come off … the inside of my left arm goes numb. I have got this next week off to assess what I need to go forward. I don’t know what I’m ­going to do.

McIlroy has been struggling with injury

“You might not see me until next year. You might see me in a couple of weeks’ time. It really depends.”

McIlroy was due on Sunday night to fly to Belfast, where he will meet up with his fitness advisor, Steve McGregor. Together they will decide on the wisest approach to the injury, which is connected to the stress fracture of the rib that he ­suffered in the build-up to his first event in January.

McIlroy has yet to win in 2017 and, if he were to bow out until ­January, it would mean his first ­calendar year without lifting a title in eight campaigns – since he was a teenager.

He is due to play in the Northern Trust Open next week in Boston, the first of the four FedEx Cup

play-offs. Last year, McIlroy won the concluding tournament in the five-week series, the Tour Championship, and finished on top of the FedEx standings. McIlroy took home $11.2 million (£8.6m) that Sunday, the biggest single payday of his career.

However, McIlroy indicated he was not prepared to run the risk of long-term injury, with his sights ­already on the Masters in eight months’ time, when he will try once again to complete the career grand slam. “I feel like I’m capable and playing well enough to give myself a chance in it [the FedEx Cup],” he said. “At the same time, April is a long way away. That’s the next big thing on my radar. It’s tough. I want to get back into that winner’s circle.As I said, I have a good bit of time to get healthy. The next big thing is April and that’s really what my focus will be on until then.”

McIlroy is clearly in a dilemma. As well as the grand finale to the US Tour, there is the Race To Dubai on the European Tour, the order of merit chase which he has won three times in the past five years. He could take two months off and return in plenty of time for his home circuit’s run-in, but he is down in 10th, with little hope of victory, and after his 73 on Saturday, signed off by saying: “Looking forward to 2018.” It must be highly tempting to take a protracted break.

“The more I play, it’s just not ­allowing that time to heal 100 per cent,” McIlroy said. “An injury like this, it’s eight full weeks of rest ­before you start to rehab it and then you go again. I just haven’t allowed it the time to heal fully. If I want to challenge on a more consistent ­basis, I need to get 100 per cent healthy.”

McIlroy could finish the year without a trophy

Off the course, it has been a wonderful year. McIlroy was married in April and the next month signed a 10-year equipment deal with ­TaylorMade, estimated to be worth $100 million.

Yet inside the ropes, there have not been any celebration bells, with three missed cuts in his past six events and his decision a fortnight ago to sack his long-time caddie JP Fitzgerald.

McIlroy used his best friend, Harry Diamond, at Quail Hollow and at last week’s WGC Bridgestone Invitational, but when asked about an update on a permanent replacement, McIlroy said: “I don’t have one. Everything is up in the air because I don’t know when I’m going to play next.”

To cap it all, McIlroy had to watch Jordan Spieth win his third major at the Open Championship although he failed in North Carolina to beat him to the career grand slam – finishing one behind his Ulster friend on two over after a 70. McIlroy has been losing ground in the rankings not only to the young American but also to world No 1 Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama, who was in contention for his first major on Sunday night.

After three holes, the Japanese was in joint second with Chris Stroud, two behind another American in Kevin Kisner.

Johnson blames his major tumble on fall at Masters

Dustin Johnson has blamed a tumble down the stairs at the Masters in April for his “frustrating” major campaign which in no way lived up to his world No 1 billing.

The 33-year-old shot a four-under 67 to end on level par in the US PGA in Charlotte. Johnson’s top-30 placing was his best finish at a major since winning the US Open last year. However, this was of little consolation to the American. “I’m definitely frustrated for sure,” he said. “Because going into Augusta I’m playing the best golf of my career and then unfortunately I didn’t get to play and then just struggled a little bit this whole summer.

“It’s all due to what happened right before Augusta, slipping and hurting my back. But I feel like the game is coming around. It’s starting to feel a lot better. I’ve got confidence in it. I definitely rolled the putter a little bit better today. It’s close to being really good.”